Is this normal for parrots?????

Question

I bought a Derbian Parrot 2 weeks or so ago, and Im spending loads of time trying to get him used to my hands. At the start he was very nippy and nervous which is understandable, due to my house and his new surroundings I guess.Now he actually willingly steps onto my hand and will walk up my arm, but will still sort of "test the water" with his beak on my arm, it can be a little bit painful.I suppose this is normal for a 4-5 month old bird, hes still very young, am I right????

Answer 1

Yup. It's normal. It's not nice and not pleasant but it's normal. I've heard it referred to as"beaking".
Not unlike "teething" in babies, he doesn't realize that what he has planted in the middle of his face could be used to open beer cans, let alone carve you up. He simply doesn't know he is hurting you...yet.
Now is the time to begin "redirecting" the biting behavior.
Anytime he bites a finger,do not pull away from the beak; rather, push in toward the beak gently and bring the finger up. DON'T do this quickly, okay? Nice and easy. Doing it fast may hurt him. Just in slightly and up. He won't be able to maintain the clamp he has on your finger when you do this. While you're doing that, say very gently, "No..."
Right away and I mean RIGHT AWAY, hand him a toy he may chew on. When he chews on the toy, praise hm wildly.
Birds love drama, so make it worth getting out the popcorn for, okay?
"Gooood Boy!!! Yay!" I mean you want to make a big deal of it.
Explain what he did right, which was chewing on the toy rather than your finger.
This is called, "DRA" in behavior training, which stands for "Differential Reinforcement of an Alternate behavior".
Rather than chew on your finger, you are providing him with a toy to chew on...an "alternate".
With several repetitions of replacing the finger with a chew toy, and he begins to go for the chew toy, once he starts automatically going for the chew toy, you can begin rewarding him
with a treat the treat he likes best.
This treat is the "reward", technically known as a "Reinforcement".
The reinforcement should be a food he would sell his Mother for, and something he does not get on a regular basis in his diet.
Remember the movie "Austin Powers"? There was a scene in it where "Mini-Me" goes to bite the Bald Cat's ear.
And The Mike Myers character says, "We don't bite our Kitties!".
Mini-Me keeps going for the cat's ear.
It's a little like that:
Every time your little guy goes for the flesh, a quick, "No" ought to hold him for maybe 3 or 4 seconds before he trys it again. Be persistant and the time between biting will get longer and longer. And keep that "DRA" toy in your pocket at all times.
He will get it. He's still real young technically in that his base experience with the world is only 4 or 5 months, and he's only had 2 weeks with you.
So cut him some slack and work with him, play with him and enjoy him.
Also undertand that parrots use their beak as third foot. Experience will teach him how to use it without crippling you and sending you to the floor on your knees in pain! (Ummm...been there! It takes a while to curtail that urge to shake the parrot off of you...you simply don't want to hurt the parrot and you learn to take the pain. It takes a while but damn it still hurts when it happens! So I can completely empathize what you are going through.)
In the meantime, here are some websites to read in order to understand Positive reinforcement training.
http://www.birdsnways.com/

http://www.upatsix.com/

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/behavior/...

http://www.naturalencounters.com/parrot....

http://www.avianpublications.com/items/b...

http://www.pet-parrots.com/parrots/parro...

http://www.clickertraining.com/training/...

These are just a few websites. Positive reinforcement training is essential for a happy well-behaved bird with good manners.

This works like you would not believe. I have trained my African Grey with this technique and his behavior repertoire includes shooting basketball hoops and putting rings on a spindle. He will pull a tissue out of a dispenser and brings it to me when I sneeze, as well as a bunch of other stuff.
It can be done and parrots are so smart, if you become a good trainer you'll have him shooting hoops in no time. You'll also have fewer scars on your arms!
Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes, you are right! As the bird gets acclimated to you he will get better and hopefully more gentle. Of course, keep in mind that they use their beak as a hand much of the time, so depending on the size of the bird, he may feel he has to hold on tightly, not quite realizing that your arm is not a branch or perch that he's used to being able to biting very hard.

Answer 3

yes, it is normal. He's growing trust. He is still not sure what to think of this whole situation and he is still very young. Keep working w/ him though because the more you work with him the less he'll bite. And he'll be more nice. Plus a parrot is always more aggressive w/ some one they are starting to like and trust.

Answer 4

Yes, I think he's coming along normally. He may not even realize he's hurting you. The only thing I'd suggest is don't flinch or give any indication that his nips have any effect. Parrots are smart and he'll probably stop doing it on his own when he sees it doesn't work or isn't necessary.

Answer 5

Yeah, like everyone else said, it is normal. And yes, like most others said, set limits. Anything that hurts should be redirected- say "No" firmly and in a low tone of voice. Open beaked mouthing and tonguing is completely natural and normal.

Answer 6

PARROTS EXPLORE EVERYTHING WITH THEIR BEAK AND YES IT CAN BE PAINFUL. YOU WILL NEED TO SET BOUNDRIES. THERE ARE MANY PARROT GROUPS THROUGH YAHOO AND I RECOMMEND YOU JOIN ONE SO YOU HAVE A SEASONED GROUP OF PARROT OWNERS THERE TO ANSWER OTHER QUESTIONS. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE PICTURES OF YOUR PARROT AS I NEVER HEARD OF THE TYPE YOU HAVE.

I BELONG TO PARROT FLOCK AND PARROTENTS GROUPS.

Answer 7

yes this is very normal for a young parrot. You must remember though, you have to set boundries fo ryour new parrot. You should never let him on your shoulder at this point though, as he them feels very dominate if he is abouve your eye level and you ar emore likley to get bitten.

Answer 8

Yeah, it's normal. He's checking to see if he trusts you. Just keep working with him.

Answer 9

he's just young, give him time....birds always test with their beaks if their moving somewhere....consider them love nips...
he will stop....good luck with your new buddie

Answer 10

yeah i think that is normal for parrots like these and if u hurry with them they are gonna be stupid forever